TRIBALISM IS A MYTH IN ZAMBIA
MY father was Lungu from southern Mbala, his mother was Mambwe who hailed from the northern part of the district pretty close to the Tanzanian border near Saise River. My paternal grandmother had further links to the Winamwanga most of whom inhabit Isoka and Nakonde areas.
On the other hand my mother was Bemba but her father (my maternal grandfather) had a Bemba father and a Lungu mother. My surviving martenal uncles tell me they too have some further links to people who came from Chinsali and Mporokoso. Oh what a chain.
Then which tribe am I? What about my children, whose mother is neither Lungu nor Mambwe but comes from Southern Province, Let’s be realistic. I have no tribe.
As the list of grand children (including those from the extended family) swells, I discovered there are Nsengas, Tumbukas, and Lenjes, Tongas, Lambas, Lozi and Kaondes.
The tribalism narrative in Zambia usually emerges during election time. It is an agenda pushed by politicians to solicit ethnic sympathy to get votes. But even then, right on the ground these politicians are hanging in life time alliances called inter marriages.
As a reporter of many years I have travelled the breadth of this country. By now I have been to all the 10 provinces. Never at any time have I been asked which tribe I am each time I have visited these regions.
In fact something that I love doing most is, when I get to an area I have never been to, I make an attempt to learn some words in the local language. I also love to explore delicacies there.
In Eastern Province, I enjoy Chimponde, a paste crafted from treated ground nuts. But I play vegetarian on meaty meals for obvious reasons. In NorthWestern I feast on the honey and nshima prepared from sorghum.
In Western Province I sample rice and Mongu fish but distance myself from Mopani. Luapula Province provides a variety of fish depending on how one wants it done.
In Southern Province, my inlaws are aware of my obsession for mapopwe, busala and even chibwantu but I have never been a fan of mabisi which is a common delicacy among my paternal grandmother’s compatriots, the Mambwe who like Tonga are pastoral farmers as they keep cattle. The list goes on.
All those who have travelled countrywide will agree that most local inhabitants you encounter will be kin to teach you lines so that you are able to string sentences in their languages. They will also be too happy to share with you the indigenous delicacies. Again never at any time will they ever ask you about your tribe? For many years this is the Zambia we have known.
Apparently that is the Zambia Kenneth Kaunda and his colleagues in leadership sought to see when they promoted the one Zambia one nation motto. Admittedly the advent of multiparty dispensation in 1990 introduced tribal talk mostly during political campaigns.
In recent days it has been propelled in discussions on social media platforms otherwise in Zambia tribalism remains a myth. Talk to 10 people around you, you will be surprised to learn that eight of them, if not all, are inter married. Beyond that what they call best friends are colleagues who don’t even belong to their ethnic groups.
But if we go by the level of the current discourse on tribalism there is a danger that Zambia will slide into a category of other countries that have been torn up by ethnic clashes. Examples are numerous.
The great lakes region for many years has always been in strife because of tribalism. In 1994 almost a million people were savagely slaughtered just because they belonged to a tribe called Tutsi.
Rwanda has however, drawn a sad lesson from that episode today, the people there have insisted that there are no Tutsis, Hutus or Twa in that country they are all Rwandans. Because of that Kigali is boasting of unprecedented economic growth in Africa.
The continent has had its share of tribal and religious conflicts that keep burning like a bush fire. They include in South Sudan, Central Africa, parts of North Africa, to some extent even in Burundi.
Zambia, as a beacon of peace in this part of the world, a country which has not known war since independence in 1964, should never be allowed to be ripped apart by tribalism, a retrogressive and primitive analogy.
Politically, Zambia was among the first countries in Africa to revert to multiparty democracy. Since then the country remains a model, it has held regular elections and has since put in State House the sixth president.
While the country boasts of this achievement other nations are gripped in an anvil of violence each time there is change of government. Much of this violence has been as a result of proffering tribalism in politics.
In fact going by Africa’s history the term tribalism never existed in the vocabulary as people lived as one and ate everything together.
The problem came with the advent of colonialism. The colonialists first divided the continent into swathes of regions, in so doing they broke up the African identity.
As colonialists fostered the so called development, again, they distributed jobs according to where people came from and by independence it was discovered that certain ethnic groups were found more in agricultural trades than say police, the army or even the mines.
In short tribalism is an alien perception which should be dismissed in any form it emerges. Perhaps the major appeal is to politicians, they should remember that much as Zambia is a multiparty state now, politics will be beneficial to generations of tomorrow if they are sober and issue-based.
Those in power should sell themselves to convince the electorate why they should be retained. While those seeking office should equally provide a case that they are an alternative to the status quo. This can squarely be achieved without having to string a single tribal sentence. The advent of multiparty politics was a challenge that Zambia should handle the outcome of allowing more parties in the political arena without having to use underhand perceptions such as tribal narratives.
For now many of us are citizens without tribes but human beings, Zambians and above all voters participating in an era of mono politics.
Hicks Sikazwe is a Communications /Media Consultant, Media Trainer, and Freelance Journalist comments 0955/0966 929611 or hpsikazwe2017@ yahoo.com